After playing in every game possible in their four-year
careers, seniors honored by conference for athletic and academic
achievements

Julie Piper of the women’s basketball team and Matt Martin
from the football squad were selected as Eastern Washington
University’s recipients of the Big Sky Conference
Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2010-11 school year.

The Scholar-Athlete Award honors the "best of the best" of the
conference's nearly 3,000 student-athletes. One senior male and one
senior female from each school in the league are recognized for
their athletic and academics achievements.

To qualify for the award, a student-athlete must have a minimum
cumulative grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale), be a
member of the graduating class and/or have completed their last
year of intercollegiate athletic eligibility, have completed at
least two years of intercollegiate competition at the institution
and be a letterwinner.

Piper, a 2007 graduate of Roseburg (Ore.) High School,
maintained a 3.74 grade point average in natural science education
with a minor in special education. Martin, a product of La Crosse,
Wash., graduated last month with a 3.72 grade point average. He was
a double-major in finance and communication studies with a minor in
economics.

In addition to their academic successes, Piper and Martin also
shared a unique athletic accomplishment. Both student-athletes
played in every single game for the Eagles since their freshman
year. Piper appeared in 118 total games, and started all but seven
of those contests. Martin played in all 51 games for EWU in the
past four seasons, helping the team to a 36-15 overall record and
24-8 mark in the Big Sky.

Piper served as the team captain of the EWU women’s
basketball squad in her final two seasons at Eastern. She helped
rebuild a program that had a 4-25 mark in 2007-08 to earn a 19-12
overall record just two years later, which marked the best season
for the Eagles in more than two decades. Led by Piper, the 2009-10
squad earned the school’s first-ever Big Sky regular-season
title, while she became Eastern’s first-ever league Most
Valuable Player.

Following the 2010-11 season, Piper was named to the All-Big Sky
Honorable Mention squad after ranking among the top five in the
league in rebounding and blocked shots. She is among the top 10 in
the EWU career record book in six different categories, including
points scored, with an impressive 1,171.

Piper’s academic success helped the EWU women’s
basketball team earn a spot on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll
for nine-consecutive years - an accomplishment only one other
school in Division I history has matched. She was also a four-time
Big Sky All-Academic honoree.

Martin was selected as one of four team captains for the 2010
football season. He helped EWU reach the pinnacle of collegiate
competition, as the team won NCAA Division I Football National
Championship with a 20-19 come-from-behind victory over Delaware on
Jan. 7 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The Eagles won their
final 11 games of the season to finish the year with school-record
13 victories (13-2 overall). The team was undefeated on its
new, red Sprinturf surface at Roos Field, which included three
exciting playoff games. The football team also earned a share of
the Big Sky crown for the first time since 2005.

Martin started 19 games at tight end in his career, and had 13
catches for 116 yards in 2010, to go along with career totals of 39
receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns. Following the
memorable 2010 season, he was named to the All-Big Sky Honorable
Mention squad.

Martin was among the 52 winners of the 13th annual Football
Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association Academic
All-Star Team, which was announced by the FCS ADA on Jan. 4, 2011.
Like Piper, Martin was also honored on the Big Sky All-Academic
team for four-consecutive years.